Adorned in “Team Perry” T-shirts, the rest of the Athens Drive High School women’s golf team was both supportive and confident as their teammate, Katherine Perry, walked all of 36 holes at Sanford’s Carolina Trace Country Club on June 11.

If Perry placed into the top six at this sectional qualifier, she was headed for the Women’s U.S. Open in July. After firing a 2-under 70 on the first 18 holds and a 1-under 71 on the last 18, Perry made it so that the shirts’ prophecy that read “U.S. Open here we come,” came to pass.

Perry won the event and at age 17 will be one of the youngest competitors in the biggest women’s golfing event in the country when it starts on July 6 in Bethlehem, Pa.

“It’s still surreal to me. I still can’t believe I’m going to the U.S. Open,” Perry said. “When I get up there and see that I’m inside the ropes on the putting green with [the likes of] Paula Creamer and Julie Inkster and Lorena Ochoa, it’s going to hit me.”

With her ticket to the U.S. Open punched, Perry continued her hot streak on Thursday, claiming the N.C. Women’s Amateur title in Wilson.

Tony Alcon, Perry’s coach at Athens, said she’s taken her game and confidence to a new level since she finished in eighth overall at the state championship.

“She’s been playing tournament after tournament and doing well in all of them. She’s really worked on her game and she’s doing excellent,” Alcon said. “I think us winning the state tournament vaulted her up a notch where she realized how good it felt and she wanted to achieve more herself.”

For the Perry family, and father David who has taken Katherine out to local driving ranges since she was 9, the excitement has been non-stop.

“It’s quite a stir, it’s so exciting,” David said. “We’ve got the hotels [booked] and we’ve planned more for this than we’ve planned for anything. But we’re having a good time with it.”

Katherine got a taste of the limelight when she turned on her phone the next day. “I had 55 texts, six voicemails,” Katherine said. “It’s a crazy, exciting time. It’s overwhelming a little bit, but great for sure.”

Katherine hasn’t hinted at nerves or any trepidation of being on such a big stage, saying it’s something she won’t take for granted.

“I’m going to try to enjoy it. It’s definitely a great experience and one I’ll always remember,” Perry said. “Trying to make the cut, that’s my main goal right now is to try to make the cut and go from there.”

Her parents David and Cheryl, as well as her sister Ashley, caddy Kevin Hamski and two of her high school teammates — sure to still be wearing “Team Perry” shirts — and their parents, are all making the trip.

“They’ve been great, really happy for me, excited,” Katherine said of her family and friends. “Obviously I couldn’t be where I am right now without my parents and my whole family backing me.”

Alcon said Katherine’s best quality is her mental aspect — something that should come in handy when literally thousands of onlookers surround the course each day.

“She’s got the perfect strokes, there’s no doubt about it. She gets irritated if her foot’s off-center when she’s hitting a ball — that’s how much of a perfectionist she is. But as far as leaving shots behind her, she can shake it off and move on to the next shot and that’s the mark of a real pro.”

Big-named golfers like Michelle Wie and Natalie Gulbis were unable to make the field this year, but there’s one big name Katherine most wants to have in her grouping — Julie Inkster.

“She looks like she has a blast when she plays and she looks like a fun person to play with,” Katherine said. “She’s my idol.”

Katherine, who has been a member of Lochmere Country Club since she was 13, will continue to train as the days wind down till July 6. There are only a handful of tournaments left she may try to enter and she will continue to work with her personal coach, Robert Linville, at Precision Golf in Greensboro.

“I’m just trying to have a good time when I go there and enjoy the experience and hopefully it lasts until Sunday.”